Ham and Broccoli Pasta Dinner

heavily adapted from allrecipes.com, submitted by mrs.embee

14 ounces whole wheat rotini pasta (or just regular rotini)
1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli
1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups diced fully cooked ham
1 1/2 (15 ounce) jars Alfredo sauce
ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the pasta in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, for four minutes. Add the broccoli and cook an additional 4-5 minutes. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced ham, onion and garlic to the pan. Cook until onions are soft, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add the pasta and broccoli to the pan with the ham. Pour in the Alfredo sauce; stir to blend, sprinkle with pepper and stir everything together to coat the pasta with sauce and to heat through.

This was easy! Everyone in the family loved it. Score one for mom! 

Husband rating: 4.5 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Apple Butter Ham Glaze

from allrecipes.com, submitted by CRAFTYLILDEVIL

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup apple butter 1/2 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Whisk together the apple butter, orange juice, dried onion flakes, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan. Simmer until slightly thickened.

If you have a favorite apple butter recipe you can make your own and use it here. I bought a jar of it from the store. This was a very easy glaze. I put the ham slices in a pan, poured the glaze on and baked it in the oven, at 350 degrees, until it was all warm (about 25 minutes). You could also put this over the ham in a slow cooker.  We had this with our favorite sweet potato dish and some green beans.

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say: thumbs up

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

from Six Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
6 slices deli ham
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 (8 ounce) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions: 
Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl.  Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom.  Layer chicken breasts over the sauce.  Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese.  Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers.  Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing.  Cover, and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 2-3 hours.

My recommendation would be to crush the stuffing mix into finer pieces.

Husband Rating:  3 stars

Slow Cooker Ham, Raspberry-Pear Salad

Slow Cooker Ham

INGREDIENTS:

1 (6 pound) bone-in country ham 30 whole cloves 3 cups apple cider, or as needed 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup maple syrup 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 tablespoons ground cloves 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional) 1 orange's peel

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Press whole cloves into the ham so they are evenly distributed. You may score the ham for easier insertion if you wish. Place the ham in a slow cooker. Pour in apple cider until only about 2 inches of ham is above the surface. Pack the brown sugar on top of the ham, pressing into the cloves. This will get washed away in the next step but any that stays on is a bonus.
2.	Pour the maple syrup over the ham. Season the apple cider with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves and vanilla. Add the orange peel to the pot. Fill the slow cooker as full as you can with apple cider without going over the fill line. Cover and set to Low. Cook for 8 to 10 hours.

I used a dinner ham that had no bone in it.  I cut the recipe in half and did only 7-8 cloves and 1/2 tbsp cinnamon instead of 1 tbsp.  Next time I will shorten the cooking time to 4-5 hours on low.  This had a great flavor.

Raspberry-Pear Salad

spinach

pear, cut up

raspberries

poppyseed dressing (I like Brianna's)

sliced almonds (optional)

Put spinach in a bowl.  Add desired amount of dressing and toss.  Add fruit and top with almonds, if desired.

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Denver Baked Omelet

from my sister-in-law, Catherine

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons butter 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1 cup chopped cooked ham 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped

12 eggs 1/4 plus 1/8 cup milk 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1 1/2 c southern style hash browns salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2.	Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and bell pepper until softened; about 8 minutes. Stir in ham. Three minutes after adding ham add the broccoli. Cook, stirring often for another three minutes.
3.	Beat eggs and milk in a large bowl. Stir in Cheddar cheese, ham mixture and hash browns. Season with salt and black pepper. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
4.	Bake in preheated oven until eggs are browned and puffy; about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

This is tasty, filling and pretty healthy.

Husband rating:  4.5 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Family Dinner

On Sunday night we had dinner with family.  We had ham, my favorite sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli and rolls.  For dessert we had ice cream and berries.  Easy!!

Easter-Ham, Rolls, Apple Walnut Salad, Funeral Potatoes

Slow Cooker Ham from allrecipes.com submitted by LITTLEMSTXTHANG

2 c packed brown sugar
1 8 lb ham

Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar on the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the ham flat side down into the slow cooker - you might have to trim it a little to make it fit. Use your hands to rub the remaining brown sugar onto the ham. Cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours.

I added a small can of pineapple tidbits and only cooked for about 4 hours, per the recommendations of other reviewers on the site.  It was still a little drier than I like and would probably do it for less time next time.

Apple Walnut Salad  

2 handfuls baby spinach
1 romaine heart chopped
1 apple chopped
1/4 chopped walnuts
1/4-1/2 cup Craisins
poppy seed dressing

Combine spinach and romaine.  Add dressing (I like Brianna's Poppy seed Dressing) and toss to coat.  Add apple, walnuts and craisins.  

Potato Casserole

1 bag hashbrowns

3 tbsp butter

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c sour cream

1 c milk

3 tbsp finely chopped green onions

3/4 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

3/4 c dry bread crumbs

2 tbsp butter, melted

3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Place hashbrowns in a a 2 or 3 quart casserole dish.  Pour melted butter over potatoes.  Mix together soup, sour cream, milk, green onions, and cheese.  Pour evenly over potatoes.  Toss crumbs with melted butter and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle on top of casserole.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  Makes 8-10 servings.

Husband Rating:  4 stars
Boys say:  thumbs up

Scrambled Omelette Breakfast

Scrambled Omelette Breakfast

by Melanie

6 eggs

6 egg whites

2-3 deli slices of ham or less of thicker sliced dinner ham, cut into small pieces

1 tbsp dry onions

1 tbsp butter

1/4-1/3 c shredded cheese

1 c baby spinach, cut into smaller pieces

salt and pepper

Scramble eggs and egg whites.  Put butter in heated skillet.  Add ham and onions.  Cook, stirring often for a couple of minutes.  Add eggs.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add spinach and cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  

This is my favorite way to do eggs.  Everyone in our family loves it.  When was the last time you started your day with spinach?!  

Every Sunday we have brunch before heading off to church.  I always look forward to it because I don't have time for a fancy breakfast during the week.  And this isn't really even fancy.  It only takes a few minutes!

Husband rating:  4.5 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up!